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Apple's inability to meet demand for its Mac Pro desktop computer has surpassed that of its most egregious Mac production problem in memory, the debacle over the all-in-one iMac of late 2012 and early 2013.

Currently, Apple's online store shows the Mac Pro as backordered by four to six weeks, meaning new orders won't ship until mid- to late-May.

Apple CEO Tim Cook ended up regretting the 2012 iMac introduction and slow roll-out, which was a major cause of a 22% decline in Mac revenue in that year's fourth quarter. "If we could run it over, frankly I would have announced the iMac after the turn of the year, because we felt our customers had to wait too long for that specific product," Cook said during a January 2013 conference call with Wall Street.

While the paucity of Mac Pros probably won't have a similar impact on Mac revenue -- the pricy personal computers will likely compose only a very small fraction of the line's unit sales -- it wouldn't be surprising to hear Cook issue another mea culpa on April 23, when Apple issues its first-quarter earnings and its executives take questions from Wall Street analysts.